Alpha Grey
by FlitterFlutterFly
Summary: The Atlantis expedition steps through the Gate only to find that the Ancients weren't quite as they seemed. It's a good thing that one consented to be left behind to consult the next race of Lanteans. Good!Sumner. McShep and other pairings. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **The Atlantis expedition steps through the Gate only to find that the Ancients weren't quite as they seemed. It's a good thing that one consented to be left behind to consult the next race of Lanteans.  
**Pairings: **Sheppard/McKay, Sumner/OMC, Weir/Zelenka, Lorne/Parrish, and more  
**Warnings:** Dom/sub world, will have sex scenes for slash, het, and femslash couples  
**Notes:** This fic is totally self-indulgent. No haters allowed.

* * *

The last of the member of the Atlantis expedition stepped through the Stargate. The Gate shut down just as a bottle of champagne rolled through. Elizabeth picked it up, smiling to herself.

The military personnel were already spreading out to scout the area. The gateroom lights flicked on as they walked around it, but no doors opened. Out of the corner of her eyes, Elizabeth saw Major John Sheppard step forward as if to walk up the central stairs.

A holographic image flickered on up at the top of the stairs. It was of a young man, perhaps no older than thirty, with light chocolate skin and dark hair cropped short. The most startling thing about him, though, was that his eyes were bright blue.

Elizabeth heard the sound of several safeties being clicked off. She turned to glare at Sumner, who had his gun pointed at the holographic image.

"Hello," the image said. It repeated it again in about a dozen languages, only a few of which Elizabeth actually recognized—and she knew over two-dozen languages conversationally.

"Hello," Elizabeth called back. The gateroom was hushed. Rodney came up to stand by her side.

"Confirmed," the image said. He flickered and then he smiled. "Welcome to Atlantis. If the city Stargate opened for you, then you hail from Earth and as thus are likely descendants of the Lanteans who once inhabited these walls. I am Rein Rexus. This is a recording that I made just before placing myself in a stasis pod deep in the city. As long as the city has power, which it should if this recording is playing, then I am alive."

Elizabeth glanced at Rodney. His mouth was hanging open slightly, but his blue eyes were sharp. That's what she liked about him. For all he seemed a bit of a fool at times, his brain was always calculating.

"As soon as this recording began, the chamber I will place, or have placed myself in will have begun to awaken me. I should arrive in person into the gateroom soon after this recording finishes. Until then, the gateroom doors will remain closed to you." Rein, or Rein's recording, paused. "Atlantis will now show a number next to this image that indicates how long it has been since I placed myself in the stasis pod."

A number appeared in front of Rein's holographic body. Elizabeth gasped.

"This number is in Terran, or Earth, solar years," Rein's image said.

"Just over ten thousand years," Peter murmured on Elizabeth's other side.

"There is a threat in the Pegasus galaxy, the reason that the Lanteans abandoned Atlantis this many years ago. They are known as the Wraith. If you know of their existence, say yes. If you do not, say no."

"No," Elizabeth said. Dread pooled in her stomach. A threat? They'd come here to find ways to defeat the Ori, not deal with a new threat.

"Confirmed." The image flickered. "I am glad. That means that the Wraith have no yet managed to recover the location of Earth and the Milky Way galaxy. It is unlikely they are dead. A single Wraith has the ability to live almost indefinitely if food is available to them." Rein's image held up a hand and another figure appeared beside him. It was of a humanoid creature with reptile eyes and long white hair. It smiled, showing pointed teeth.

"This is a Wraith knight. They have only one food source and will starve if it is not available. No amount of rehabilitation and alternate food has been successful in turning them from this." Rein's image frowned. "The image I am about to show is disturbing, but imperative to make you understand the threat the Wraith pose."

A human appeared next to the Wraith. It was a pale male, bare-chested with a simple pair of white pants. The Wraith reached out with a hand and placed it on the human's chest. It's nails dug into the human's skin and then the human let out an unholy scream.

Elizabeth flinched, but couldn't turn away as the human aged rapidly until he was nothing more than a husk that dropped to the floor. Several members of the expedition screamed. Both the human and Wraith disappeared.

"After a Wraith feeds, it has temporary accelerated healing. They are very hard to kill. They are also vicious. The have no pain receptors and little emotion. They exist to feed and reproduce." Rein's image frowned. "They breed faster the more a food source is plentiful. When we first became aware of the Wraith, a thousand years before this recording was made, the population of humans, including the Lanteans that I descended from, was just over one hundred billion and spread across five galaxies. The Wraith completely wiped out three of those galaxies."

An image appeared over the holographs shoulder, showing five sections of the blue dots. Red began to overwhelm the blue until only two blue galaxies remained.

"The Wraith went to the Milky Way galaxy and wiped out the populations of all the terraformed and populated planets, except for Earth. On Earth, they destroyed one billion living there, but they knew that they were running out of food, so they left feeding grounds. Several pockets of human, little more than ten thousand each, were allowed to live on different continents on Earth. Their technology was taken and in the hundreds of years after, the Lanteans found that they had forgotten that they were once able to travel the stars."

"Oh my god," Elizabeth murmured.

"Meanwhile, the Wraith travelled to the Pegasus galaxy. The Lanteans had been preparing for many years and were able to put up a suitable defense, but the Wraith were strong. They destroyed many of our outposts on various planets, leaving the more primitive of our kind to continue living as future feeding grounds. We battled for one hundred years." Rein's image looked down. "We were not prepared. The Wraith had bred to numbers greater than we could deal with after destroying four galaxies. One last mission was conducted. It was a success. The coordinates of Earth were wiped from the Wraith drives and the last of the Lanteans left through the Stargate to join the primitive colonies on Earth and live the rest of their lives in peace."

Rein looked up, surveying the room as if his image could actually see the people in it. "The Wraith know that they had left a feeding ground behind in another galaxy. I have no doubt they continue to search for it. Depending on the number of years that have passed, we can work together to make plans to defend the occupants of Earth and of the other planets in the Milky Way galaxy if they have been repopulated." The recording flickered. "I should arrive in the gateroom soon. Thank you for listening."

Elizabeth turned to Sumner. He'd lowered his gun, but his hand was still on the trigger. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"He's an Ancient," Elizabeth said. "Let's not antagonize him."

"I won't shoot him," Sumner told her. "If what he says about these Wraith are true, we need more intel."

Elizabeth snorted, but nodded. They both turned back to the stairs, waiting for the doors up on the landing to open.

It surprised all of them when a door toward the side was the one to open instead. Rein stepped out. He walked to the top of the stairs and then down a few steps. He looked around at all of them.

"It's a pleasure to see you in person," Elizabeth said. She stayed in the front of the group with Sumner and Rodney. "I'm Elizabeth Weir."

"The pleasure is returned," Rein said. "I assume you all saw my recording. As it said, I am Rein." He studied them for another moment. "Atlantis has informed me that is has been ten thousand and thirteen years."

"That's what the number said," Elizabeth agreed.

"And you know nothing of the Wraith on Earth?" Rein questioned.

"No," Sumner answered.

Rein ran a hand through his short brown hair. A metallic white bracelet gleamed in the light from his right wrist.

"If you don't mind me asking, lad," Carson piped up. "How are you faring? You've been in a stasis pod for ten thousand years. Are you experience muscle weakness?"

"Lad?" Rein's lips curled up.

Elizabeth looked back in time to see Carson flush. "No offense meant."

"No offense taken," Rein said. "As an alpha, it's simply been a long time since I've been called anything of the kind."

"Alpha?" Elizabeth asked.

He turned his alarming blue eyes back to her. "I had wondered if Earth would lose this knowledge after so many years without connection to Atlantis. She is the one who awakens it after all." He brushed a hand against a step above him on the stairs and the flashed briefly as if reacting to his touch.

"Is Atlantis sentient?" Rodney asked.

"In a way," Rein told him. He cleared his throat. "To answer your question…."

"Carson Beckett. I'm a doctor."

"Doctor Beckett, I am in fine health. The stasis pod was designed for long-term use. It kept me hydrated and my nutrients levels in balance. The gel of the capsule was designed to push my muscles, simulating exercise, to keep me from loosing the ability to walk when I was awoken." He sighed. "I am not, however, at the same peak physical condition I was when I went into the pod. It will take a few months of true training to return to my former fitness."

Carson nodded. "Thank you for telling me."

"I will try to hold very little from you. I hope to be allies," Rein said. "We hold the same blood, the same genes, though they seem to be dormant in most of you."

"Dormant?" Rodney questioned. "Not nonexistent?"

"Just dormant," Rein assured him. "All the members of Earth hold the ability to be awoken by Atlantis. It is interesting that some of you are already partially awaken." He turned his eyes to Sheppard. Elizabeth watched as Sheppard met them unflinchingly. Rein smiled and looked away.

"About the Wraith," Sumner prompted.

Rein's eyes darkened. "There is good news and bad news. The bad news being that in ten thousand years, there is very little chance they have been killed. If they have kept to the Pegasus galaxy as I predict, then they will have had no large resistance. They will have maintained the people of this galaxy as relatively primitive civilizations for them to harvest in intervals."

"That's sick," Bates muttered. Rein must have heard him, because he nodded.

"The Wraith have no concept of morality like we do. They have been known to feed on each other in territory disputes. They hold no guilt for the humans they feed on and while they know how to make themselves seem civil, there is no chance of making peace with them. As I said in the recording, there is no other food source for them except human life force."

"So we need to exterminate them, before they discover the location of Earth," Sumner concluded.

"That would be the plan," Rein agreed. "What is the current population of Earth?"

"Around six and a half billion," Elizabeth said.

Rein frowned. "Are you not nearing capacity for the planet?"

"The vast majority of people on Earth are not aware that we have the means to travel to other planets and colonize them," Peter said.

"Then Earth is the only human-populated planet in the Milky Way?"

"No," Elizabeth said. "The Wraith must have left other… feeding grounds. Many planets in the Milky Way are populated, though few have as many as Earth. There are about twenty-five billion people estimated."

"It is imperative we do not let the Wraith discover that," Rein said. "Before the other Lanteans left, the human population of this galaxy was one billion. I imagine it has not changed much, and if so it would have decreased. With only a steady food source of less than a billion, the Wraith likely began to turn on each other."

"We don't want to give them a common enemy again," Sheppard said.

Elizabeth was surprised to hear him speak. So far, he'd seemed content to hang around in the background. Also surprisingly, Sumner didn't glare at the man. Instead, he nodded along.

"Yes," Rein said. "I have no real information, but I estimate that there are only a few hundred Wraith hive ships left. Many likely hibernate for hundreds of years to allow the human population to replenish after a mass culling." He sighed. "It is imperative that we do not wake them all up and instead learn as much as we can about their locations and numbers."

"You believe them beatable?" Sumner questioned.

"I do no know the currently weapons technology Earth has invented," Rein said. "However, many of the outposts in this galaxy were put into hibernation and should be able to be reclaimed. Our technology is superior to the Wraith, but we were outnumbered in the war. They would never have been able to sustain the numbers they had. Even toward the end of the war, they'd already dwindled, but by that point so had we and they were united in their attempt to eradicate us and the threat we posed to them." He smiled. "What I mean to say is yes. I believe we can. And we must, before they have a chance to fully realize that there is another generation of Lanteans come to defeat them."

"Earth doesn't have a full ZPM," Elizabeth said. "They aren't able to dial into Atlantis again."

"ZPM?"

"The power module. That harvests zero point energy," Rodney said.

"Oh!" Rein laughed. "ZPM. I like it. Atlantis runs off three of… three ZPMs. They were near depletion when I awoke. I headed to the power room and replaced all of them before coming here, so the city is at full power. She's still in hibernation mode at the moment, but it will be easy to awaken her at any time. Those three were the only ones stored on the city. There is a ZPM manufacturing plant on one of the outposts that was put into hibernation. It is my hope that it was not destroyed."

"So we can dial Earth?" Elizabeth asked to make sure.

"Yes, we certainly have the power," Rein said. "Atlantis runs optimally on three, but she can fairly easily sustain herself on just two. I can give you one of the full ZPMs to take back, so you'll be able to dial in again."

"And we'll look for the manufacturing outpost to get more," Rodney said.

"If not, then I can give you schematics for how they are made." Rein shrugged. "I'm not an engineer, but I should be able to find the relevant papers."

"That would be great," Elizabeth said. "That would solve a lot of our problems."

Rein nodded and then sighed. "Atlantis will change anyone who lives within her walls for more than a week. This change is irreversible. It was the core of Lantean society before and even during the war with the Wraith. The usual coming of age ceremony was a pilgrimage to Atlantis to be awaken."

"What sort of change are you talking about?" Rodney asked.

Rein fiddled with the bracelet on his right wrist. "What do you know of the Lanteans?"

"Other than what you have just told us?" Elizabeth asked. "We know you built the Stargates and seeded a number of planets."

"Seeded… that's an interesting way to put it," Rein murmured. "My apologies, please continue."

"You, or many of you, could ascend into a higher type of life form. The closer you came to ascension, the more abilities you developed and the longer you could live."

"Partially correct," Rein said. "The abilities you're referring you are what is awakened by Atlantis. Among these abilities include faster regeneration and healing, which allowed for some to live much longer than they would normally. There was a track of us who believe in ascension above all else and spent their lives attempting to do away with their mortal body, but the vast majority of us were content to spend a mortal life among the stars."

"So if we stayed on the city for a week, we'd get superpowers?" Rodney asked.

Rein blinked as several of the expedition members laughed. "I suppose you could put it that way. Regardless, I cannot allow you to remain here at the moment."

"Why?" Sumner asked. Elizabeth noticed the grip on his gun had tightened.

"Because it seems that you knew none of this," Rein said. "I'm sure your people on Earth would like to be informed and a number of you may not wish to live on a city that will very soon become a war base."

He closed his eyes. "When I say you will be changed, I do not just mean that you will develop abilities. The awakening will place you on in inherent rank based upon your power level. There are five ranks: alpha, beta, gamma, theta, and sigma. Once you have been awakened, you will be able to feel the rank of the others who have. If you operate under a different ranking system, this will be detrimental to command. This city will only operate smoothly if everyone understands and accepts their place in the ranks."

"You're an alpha," Elizabeth said.

"In a group of one hundred people, there is approximately one alpha, two betas, twenty-five gammas, thirty-three thetas, and forty sigmas. That being said, even if you return with only one hundred people, I would not be surprised to find more alphas than just one or two. In times of war, more alphas and betas awaken then in times of peace."

"What is that on your wrist?" Elizabeth asked before she could help herself.

Rein studied her. "It shows my classification as a white."

"Dude, you're not white," Ford murmured.

"What?" Rein asked.

Ford flushed. "Sorry, sir. It's just… your skin color isn't…."

"White," Rein finished for him. "We've never used the term white for skin color. We would use pale. Or fair. Neither of which I am." He smiled. "White and black are two categories used for pair bonding. Or mating, or whatever it is that your people call it."

"Dating, being in a relationship, being lovers, married," Elizabeth offered.

Rein shrugged. "Once you have awakened, you will also be able to tell if someone is white or black. It's the first and foremost qualification for… dating… that person. Whites only mate with blacks and blacks only with whites."

"Is it gender based?" Elizabeth asked.

"No, not at all. Lanteans have never cared about gender in mating." Rein fiddled with his bracelet. "Our population has rarely been so low that it has mattered, and regardless—we have long ago developed incubation chambers which allow same-sex couples to have children."

"So all Lanteans are bisexual?" Rodney asked.

"I… yes," Rein said. "Certainly some have preferences, but I have known very few who have outright refused to mate with someone of a single gender purely for that reason."

"Many on Earth have a much stricter viewpoint on that," Elizabeth said, glancing at Sumner. Surprisingly, he wasn't glaring outright, but he seemed stiff.

"To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if the awakening didn't change those viewpoints," Rein told her. "Most whites find blacks attractive as part of the biological change. Our receptors are focused for such. I have known of couples who have come to Atlantis on pilgrimage too late and when they have awaken have discovered each other to be of the same classification. There is no law against dating someone of the same classification, but all of these couples lost all their sexual attraction for each other."

"That is rough," Peter murmured.

Rein cleared his throat. "I think you have most all the information you need to make an informed decision now. I am the last Lantean and I wish for as many people as want to come colonize Atlantis. These people will also need to be prepared to aid in the war against the Wraith, whether they directly fight or not. We will need to establish trade with the other planets and assess their situations. I do not want your people to order anyone. I wish for volunteers and I want no one who volunteers to be turned away. I am aware I can't enforce those requests, but I hope you will abide by them."

"We need the full ZPM to return," Sumner reminded him.

"Of course. I shall go fetch it." Rein left the gateroom. The doors remained closed after he'd left.

Sumner turned to Elizabeth. "Not what you were expecting, Dr. Weir?"

"Despite the Wraith, I believe it to be better than what I was expecting," Elizabeth said honestly. "We may have another war to fight, but Rein will be invaluable in helping us understand Ancient," she paused. "In understanding Lantean technology."

"And ZedPMs," Rodney added excitedly.

"Right," Elizabeth said, smiling.

It took five minutes for Rein to return. When he did, he was carrying a metal case. He walked down the steps and set it in front of the expedition. Sumner gestured for Bates to pick it up. He did.

"When you return, I will have prepared enough rooms for at least five hundred. If there are more of you, we can air out more, but I do not expect there to be." Rein paused. "Should I?"

"Probably not," Elizabeth said.

Rein nodded. "I noticed your outfits. The colored sections indicate what type of field you are in?"

"That's right," Elizabeth said.

"I like them, but you will need to change the color of the military outfits," Rein said. "Black is used for classification, not field." He paused. "Among Lanteans, we used red for our military forces. Purple were for the physical sciences. Blue were for the life sciences. Green were for our healers. Yellow were for the city workers, such as the cooks, farmers, technicians, and the like. Orange were for those who dealt in human relations, like the traders and diplomats, but also for the therapists and mind healers."

Elizabeth exchanged a glance with Peter. "I don't see how that small change would be a problem. We'll make sure to bring extra outfits."

"Atlantis is capable of being self-sustaining. I will make sure the greenhouses and crop fields are viable, but I doubt the seeds have survived ten thousand years, so if you would bring those."

Rein dropped his glance to Sumner's gun. "Is that a projectile weapon?"

"Yes," Sumner said.

"The Lanteans have not used those in many years," Rein said, a contemplative tone to his voice. "I know the phasers will be still be operational. We can outfit all the military forces who come with those."

"How much damage do they do?" Sumner asked.

"They have two settings, stun and kill. On a human, one shot anywhere on the body with the kill will stop their heart. The stun affects only the portion of the body hit, unless they are hit in the upper torso or head, in which case the entire body is stunned. The pistols have a range of about five yards, but there are rifles that have a significantly longer range. We also have regular stunners that have no kill option. In the past, everyone on the city above the age of thirteen was armed with a stunner, no exceptions."

"And large ordinance?"

"We have some laser guns, but drones have always been the weapon of choice for that. We have three different types of ships. The gateships, the fighters, and the battleships. I know there are still a dozen of the gateships on the city, but the battleships equipped with fighters will have all been put into hibernation. I don't know how many we have left."

"Are they equipped with a hyperdrive?" Elizabeth asked.

"The battleships are," Rein said. "The gateships and fighters were designed to be small enough to fit through the Stargates and they are all equipped with dialing mechanisms."

"What about communication devices?" Elizabeth asked, touching the radio on her ear.

Rein's eyes flicked to where her fingers were. "We have personalized communicators that attach to the cartilage of a person's ear." He turned his head so everyone could see the silver piece. It wrapped around the top of his right ear, looking more like a simple piece of jewelry than a radio. "They don't hurt and can only be removed by the person wearing it, unless that person dies. They charge off heat from the body."

"That's really cool," Rodney said. "How long is their range?"

"Without the amplifiers that are in all the outposts, the city, and the ships… they have a single plant-wide range. With the ship amplifiers, they can reach across most solar systems."

"Sold," Rodney said. "Much better than these pieces of crap."

"Rodney," Elizabeth admonished. He just smirked.

"I'll also supply anyone who comes to live on the city with datapads that connect to the city's servers. I don't know how compatible the technology you brought is with Atlantis, so that will just make things easier."

"So basically you're telling us to go tell people that there's this mostly empty city and if you come to live on it you'll be granted superpowers and get really cool shiny technology," Rodney summarized.

"And fight the Wraith," Rein said. "It is unlikely the city would every be destroyed and we'd have the opportunity to escape back to Earth before that would happen, however the Wraith can and will kill a number of those who chose to live here. I will be waging war, whether I have to do it alone or if I will have the help of the descendants of the Lanteans that were my brothers and sisters is up to you and your people."

Rein turned around and headed up to the platform that seemed to hold the most consoles. He pressed in the dialing sequence and the Gate began to charge up.

"One more question!" Rodney called. "Can I bring back my cat?"

Rein leaned over the balcony. "Animal companion?" Rodney nodded. "I don't mind. There are no current animals on the city, so there isn't a chance of it being an invasive species. Just don't take it offworld." He looked around. "That goes for all of you. I don't want to limit what you bring. Any technology we can try to integrate with Atlantis, but I wouldn't worry about that. We probably have similar technology installed in her already. Anything organic—pets, favorite food, lovers… though keep in mind my earlier warning about that last one, feel free to bring it."

"We'll discuss it with our leaders," Elizabeth said. The gate opened.

"This is Stargate Command," Jack O'Neill's voice came through the Gate. "Is this Atlantis?"

Elizabeth touched the radio in her ear. "It's only been a few hours, but we have a lot to tell you. The Atlantis expedition is coming back through."

"All of you? Is the city uninhabitable?"

"We'll explain during debriefing. You'll want to call together the IOA and any military leaders who have been informed of the program. The President and Prime Ministers, too."

"That doesn't sound good," Jack said.

"It depends on your point of view." Elizabeth cleared her throat. "We're bringing back a full ZPM."

"Well then, start sending people through."

Sumner began to corral groups through the Gate. Rein walked back down the stairs. He held a crystal in his hand. He held it out for Elizabeth. She took it curiously.

"Point it to a wall and have someone who is already partially awakened press down on it. It will show a recording of everything my initial recording said as well as what I discussed with your expedition."

"That will be useful, thank you." Elizabeth paused. "What should we call you?"

"Traditionally, people in the same rank call each other by their first names. Those of different ranks and who do not feel comfortable referring to each other so informally will use the rank name. For instance, I would be Alpha Rein or Alpha Rexus."

"Good to know," Elizabeth said. "And thank you."

"I await the next time you open the Gate." Rein smiled. "Good luck."

Elizabeth walked over to where Sumner and Rodney waited as the last people to step through. Sumner looked at the crystal in her hand but said nothing. Elizabeth stepped through the Gate.

"I want to go," Daniel said.

"Danny." Jack sighed. "We talked about this before."

"Before, we didn't know if we'd have the power to come back. We do. Atlantis won't be cut off from Earth. I want to talk to Rein in person."

"Look, I'm not saying it wouldn't be good for you to go, but you saw the recording. You'll be changed, Danny. You won't be the same Daniel Jackson."

"I'm not going to become a completely different person." Daniel huffed. "Jack, I already changed. Surely you can see that? After I ascended… I think I know what Rein is talking about, okay?"

Jack stared at him. "You're not staying. If you go, you go to consult, but you'll come back to Earth. You have duties here."

"Duties," Daniel murmured. He wondered if Jack would ever acknowledge that there was a reason his duties always kept him close to the man. "I won't stay, Jack. Not yet." He sighed.

Sam cleared her throat from the office doorway. They both turned to her. She smiled at the surprise on their faces. "I have an idea. All three of us are needed on Earth, but I can't deny that these powers Rein was talking about would be useful. Rodney thinks that the awakening will allow us to control the Lantean technology far easier than we have been before."

"Since when did McKay become Rodney to the both of you?" Jack asked. "You hated him last I checked. Had him sent to Siberia."

"And then we made up and I realized his calculations were more accurate than mine." Sam sniffed. "He's a genius and he may be socially inept, but if you look past that he's not bad."

"You just like that he stopped hitting on you so hard," Daniel said.

"Well, I did start dating Cam," Sam said. "It did get better after that. He's easier to work with without the panting."

"So what's your idea?" Jack asked.

"After the colony settles in, we'll take a couple week leave and spend it on Atlantis," Sam said. "Cam wants to come along too. Teal'c says he doesn't want to change, but he agrees that it would be best for us if we did. We'll go, give me and Danny a chance to talk to Rein, and come back better prepared to face the Ori."

Daniel nodded. "I'm okay with that."

Jack leaned back in his chair. "Are you and Cameron sure? You heard what Rein said about not being attracted to each other afterwards."

"We're prepared for that, if it turns out to be the case. We still don't know what exactly makes someone a white versus a black."

"Just one of the things I want to ask Rein about," Daniel murmured.

"Okay," Jack said. "I agree. We'll give the colony a couple months, but then we'll go visit."

Sam and Daniel both nodded.

Marshall Sumner stood in front of the military volunteers. It had taken a month to organize everyone. The General of the Air Force, Admiral of the Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and the General of the Army were all part of the committee along with President of the United States, the Prime Ministers of Canada, the UK, France, Japan, Portugal, Spain, and several other countries from the EU.

Only military forces from the United States had been informed about the Stargate position, though scientists from nearly all the EU had been invited to join years ago. Everyone read into the Stargate program had been informed of Atlantis and had been allowed to watch the recording. And then there had been endless discussions.

Marshall wasn't the only colonel who volunteered to colonize the city, but he was the only one that had been accepted. Though Rein had expressed wish to let all those who wished to come come, the armed forces simply didn't work that way. They couldn't spare everyone, especially not for the first wave and without more information about how the awakening would change rank dynamics.

The same reasons Marshall had been in charge of the original expedition still applied to allow him to be the officer headed to Atlantis, those this time he'd have more officers with him. Not that those ranks would matter after they'd been awakened.

"You have all volunteered and have been accepted to join the Atlantis colony. We will be waging war on the Wraith. You've all watched the feeding recording and Alpha Rexus' explanation on them. It is our mission, come straight from the President, to eradicate any and all we can find. We will not leave a creature that uses us for food alive to discover Earth's location," Marshall said. "Am I understood?"

"Yes sir!" the crowd of two hundred and thirty eight men and women from all branches of the United States armed forces shouted.

"I have orders straight from the top of the Navy, Army, Coast Guard, and Air Force," Marshall said. "Once you officially sign onto this mission, you will no longer be known as a Marine, an Airman… you won't be SEALS or Rangers. You'll be members of the Atlantis Armed Forces, Lantean Soldiers. Public Earth records will not change, but your personal records will." Marshall took a deep breath. His eyes met Sheppard's for a moment. The man didn't look away. Marshall had a feeling that once they'd been awakened, there'd be no protocol stating that he had to.

"Chain of command will change. I don't care if you were a major, if you awaken to find yourself sigma ranked then you will be sigma ranked. That is a risk we will all take. It will take time for us to adjust, but we will adjust. If you don't think you can, you're still free to walk out and return to your previous listing."

No one moved. Marshall looked them all over. "I don't know if I will be standing above you like this a few weeks from now. At least one among us will be an alpha, that is a certainty. If there is more than one, the alphas will work particular chain of command out amongst themselves. This will also be true for all the ranks. Five ranks are far less than all of us are used to. We'll be adding ranks inside those categories, but again those will not be figured until after we have more intel—after we've all awakened."

Marshall crossed his arms. "I don't like people who don't follow the chain of command. If you don't adapt, you will be disciplined. This comes straight from the Generals and Admirals. I will say again, you are free to leave."

Again, no one moved. Marshall smirked. "Very well. You have one week remaining until we dial Atlantis again. In that week, you will pack everything you want and think you will need. This is not just a regular base. Those of you who have volunteered will be moving to Atlantis for an indefinite amount of time. I recommend sorting all your Earth affairs."

He knew that, like him, the majority of people who had volunteered had very few people on Earth that would miss them. Nearly all of the original expedition had volunteered to come back. What was more, for the men and women standing in front of him, this was about keeping back an enemy that wanted to eat them. This was about joining in an honorable war—a necessary war.

"Dismissed," Sumner said.

Only Sheppard remained. Sumner had expected it. He walked up to the man. Sheppard gave him a textbook perfect salute.

Sumner sighed. "Don't. We both know you won't be doing that soon."

Sheppard studied him for a moment. "McKay and Carter have been speculating that the people like me who have strong ATA genes already feel a level of the inherent rank we'll awaken."

"I wouldn't have said it before, but I think I knew the minute we stepped onto Atlantis that you were strong, Sheppard." Marshall's gaze flicked up to Sheppard's barely regulation hair. Sheppard grinned and ran a hand through it.

"You'll be an alpha as well."

Sumner frowned. "Nothing is certain."

"No," Sheppard said. "But my instincts have always been good."

Sumner let out a heavy sigh. "I still don't like you, but I don't like many people. If we're going to be working together, then we will work together."

Sheppard nodded. It had grated on Sumner before, the power the man carried within him. He hadn't like knowing that the man who was a rank below him felt like an equal. Now, though… now Sumner thought he understood. He'd had a month to think on it.

"Will you work with me?" Sumner questioned.

Sheppard looked him in the eyes. It felt like the man was assessing his soul. Sumner kept a tight rein on his emotions, but it still chilled him. "Yes," Sheppard said finally. "I will." He paused. "We're going to kill those sick fucks who want to eat us, or we'll go down trying."

Sumner held out a hand. Sheppard took it in a surprisingly strong grip. He grinned, knowing it was a bit feral. Sheppard met it with one of his own. "On that, we are most certainly agreed."

Elizabeth rocked on her heels. Four hundred and five, that was how many had volunteered. It was more than she'd expected. A little over half were military.

"You still have that champagne I sent you?" Jack asked.

"I do." Elizabeth smiled. "I'm going to give it to the alphas."

"You don't think you'll be one?"

"I don't know if I will." Elizabeth noticed Sumner and Sheppard walk into the balcony of the gateroom. The soon-to-be Lantean colonists were still filing into the lower platform by the Stargate itself. "I joined the expedition originally as its civilian leader, but I am content with work as a diplomat and a treaty-maker between the Lanteans and the residents of the Pegasus galaxy."

Jack nodded. "The IOA and the President expect a report on the ranks and command structure once you've all awakened and settled." He swept his gaze over to Sumner and Sheppard. If he was surprised to see Sheppard standing at Sumner's side like an equal, he didn't show it. "We'll be expecting once a month data bursts. We don't want to burn out either of our ZPMs until we know how easy it will be to make more."

"Understood," Sumner said.

"At some point, if you can convince Alpha Rein to step away from the city and come in person to the SGC, the IOA would appreciate it. They want to meet him in person." Jack paused. "You don't have to rush on that. If you forget to mention it for a few months, we understand. Gathering intel on the Wraith takes precedence over all else."

"We'll do our best," Elizabeth said.

"Cool," Jack clapped her on the shoulder. "Have fun."

Elizabeth smiled and followed behind Sumner and Sheppard as they headed down to the Gate platform.

Walter dialed up the address for Atlantis and engaged the loud speaker.

The Gate connected. "This is Elizabeth Weir," she called. "And the rest of the volunteers ready to fill Atlantis' walls again."

"It's nice to hear your voice again," Rein's voice came through the Gate. "I've lowered the shield. How many should I expect?"

"Four hundred and five, and many supply crates," Elizabeth told him.

"Understood. Come on through."

Not all the volunteers had fit in the gateroom. As waves of people, each pushing wheeled supply crates, disappeared through the Stargate, more people came from where they'd waited in the hallways. Elizabeth grabbed her own supply stack and wheeled it up the platform and through the Gate.

She came out the other side. Rein was directing people to park their crates along the back wall behind the Gate. She placed hers next to Rodney's and joined him as he headed over to where Rein was. A soldier took his place in directing traffic so that he could talk to them.

"I am pleased to see you both return. I never caught your name originally," he said to Rodney.

"Rodney McKay."

Rein smiled. "You remind me of my sister. You have her eyes." A heartbreakingly sad expression crossed his face for only a brief second, before it was gone.

Elizabeth cleared her throat. "Do you need help assigning rooms for everyone?"

Rein shook his head. "I won't be assigning rooms until everyone has awakened."

"Where are we going to sleep for the next week, then?" Rodney asked, frowning.

"We'll be expediting the awakening process," Rein explained. "It's what we used to do for those who came to pay pilgrimage. We had nowhere to house them so the city designed a way to wake them quicker."

"Oh," Elizabeth said. "Is it dangerous?"

"Not at all," Rein said. "At least, no more than the usual awakening. Things tend to be shaky for newly awaken as they learn to control their new abilities, but I have faith that you will preserve past that. You all seem very determined." He smiled. "It makes me happy to see."

The last of the volunteers stepped through the gate. Jack's voice came through. "Talk to you later!" he said cheerfully, and then the Gate cut out.

Rein laughed. "I like him. What's his name?"

"Jack O'Neill," Elizabeth said. "He and a few others wish to come to city in a few months for a pilgrimage. They won't stay here, but they wish to awaken."

"I think we can work something out," Rein said. He walked away from them and to the stairs. "Welcome, everyone! I see a number of faces I recognize. Welcome back. And for all the newcomers, thank you for coming. I am Alpha Rein Rexus. After the awakening, I will be just one of you—for we will all be Lanteans."

He cleared his throat and proceeded to explain as he had for Elizabeth and Rodney that they would be going through the speedy version of awakening. "In a moment, I'll lead you all to one of the auditoriums. Once everyone has been awakened, we'll begin assigning rooms and moving supplies accordingly. Are there any questions?"

Ford raised his hand. Rein looked at him. "Why is it lighter in here?" he asked. "Was it night, last time?"

"No, Atlantis was submerged underwater while she was hibernating. The planet we are on, Lantea, is ninety-five percent ocean. After you left, I had the city rise so that she could stop using her primary shield constantly, which was draining the ZPMs."

"Oh. Cool."

Rein smiled. "Anything else?"

No one spoke up.

"Very well. Follow me."

They followed in a mass behind Rein up the stairs and through the main sliding doors beyond. Rein led them past several hallways and to a large set of sliding doors that opened to an auditorium with what looked like thousands of seats.

They walked down to the first rows. Rein walked up to the raised platform and stood on it. When he spoke, his voice was amplified across the entire auditorium.

"Find a seat in the first five rows. It doesn't matter where you sit."

They all did as asked. Elizabeth sat in the front row with Rodney on her left and Carson on her right. There was a console in front of her that held a black datapad. The chairs were comfortable, with gel armrests and curved backs.

"There is a datapad in front of all of you. Enter your full name into it. It will prompt you to answer a series of questions about your skill sets, including whether or not you are military or civilian. The questions will specialize depending on what you answer. It shouldn't take you more than an hour to get through everything. As soon as you have, the datapad will prompt you to close your eyes and lay your hands palm down on the arms of the chair. You will them begin the awakening process. The process will take approximately two and a half hours.

Rein took a deep breath. "Once you've awakened, your datapad will have updated with your rank, classification, and your abilities. Most of your abilities won't be immediately accessible to you. They will slowly come online over the next week. There is no way to speed up that process, but otherwise you will be fully awakened. You can click on the abilities shown to learn more about them while you wait for everyone to awaken. Questions?"

No one raised his or her hand. Elizabeth supposed that, like her, everyone was just excited to get the process started.

"Very well. Begin."

The datapads switched on. Elizabeth reached forward and began answering the questions asked.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes: **Rein is an old German name meaning advice/counsel.

* * *

John woke from his trance. He blinked his eyes slowly and forced his body to relax. He looked forward at his datapad. JOHN SHEPPARD it read. ALPHA BLACK. MILITARY. ABILITIES: 500% GREATER REGENERATION, SPEED, STRENGTH, SENSORY READINGS.

Five hundred percent? What did that mean? John frowned. If he used to be able to run a five-minute mile, did that mean that he could now run it in a one minute? Fuck.

John looked around. It seemed a lot of people were awake. Most looked pale, but excited as they read through things on their datapads. John could tell at one glance their ranks and it gave him a weird sense of not being alone in his own head. He closed his eyes for a moment and then glanced left to where Sumner had sat. The man was still in his trance.

John let out a soft sigh. He reached forward and clicked on the link to sensory readings.

The information was useful. It seemed his baseline would be just slightly above average, but not high enough to cripple him. He would, however, be able to learn at will how to extend his sense of smell, taste, touch, sight, or hearing. That could be very very useful.

His suspicion about the speed thing turned out to be correct. Same for his strength. What was more, he'd now be able to heal a broken bone or bullet wound in the matter of days. It was literally every soldier's wet dream.

John went back to the home page. He was an alpha black. He wondered what black meant.

He glanced up at Rein. The other alpha was watching him. John felt a surge of protectiveness flow through him. Rein was a white—someone to be guarded and cherished. He was a fellow alpha, which made him an equal, but John knew that, as a black, his word would hold sway over any white.

Rein dropped his gaze as if acknowledging this fact. Something in John settled at the simple submission. He gave Rein a soft smile and Rein smiled back. The Lantean turned away to look over others in the crowd.

John turned left again and saw that Sumner was watching him. John raised an eyebrow at the fellow alpha black. Sumner nodded and turned to click on the readings on his datapad. John leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to wait.

A little less than an hour later, Rein cleared his throat and brought everyone's attention to him.

"Everyone's awakened and had a chance to look through the reports on their abilities. More information will be available on everyone's datapad to be read in your off time. I highly recommend it." Rein smiled wide. "It feels so nice to have so many of you at the edge of my conscious after a month of no one." He paused. "I suppose it's a good thing I don't remember my ten thousand year sleep. I'm sure I would have gone quite insane."

Rein shook his head. "Regardless, let's get everything sorted. The datapad before you is yours. It has been keyed to your signature. No one else will be able to use it. So try not to lose yours. I have a list now of everyone's rank, classification, and abilities. It will be put into the public files available on everyone's datapad. Truly though, it's not a secret to anyone at the moment, is it?"

There were a couple of headshakes as people looked around at each other.

"Your alphas are myself, John Sheppard, Marshall Sumner, Elizabeth Weir, and Rodney McKay. Additionally, there are fifteen betas among you." Rein met John's gaze again, and then Sumner's, Weir's, and McKay's. "Your other alphas and I are going to meet and discuss your jobs on the city based upon the answers you gave earlier. Until then, there is a map of Atlantis in your datapad."

John looked down to see the datapad change to show a schematic of the city.

"The blinking blue dot is you. The yellow dots are the transporters. Enter into one and there will be a screen. Press on any other transporter and you will be instantly teleported there along with anything else in the transporter room. Now, there are two residential arms of the city, but as there are only four hundred and six of us, we won't even fill up one. I aired out and prepared five hundred rooms in the northeastern sector. Everyone should go begin moving personal supplies into that sector. Hopefully by the time they are all moved, we will have assigned everyone rooms."

Rein paused. "These maps are interactive. You can zoom, change the angle, and press your finger to a room to find out its purpose. There are many rooms on this city that are locked down and will remain so until future notice. However, I have labeled the labs that I already opened up and cleaned out as well as the greenhouses, the kitchens and mess hall, infirmary, and training room. Any supplies that should go in any of those areas can be moved there while you're waiting on your room assignments. Questions?"

"When do we get our radios?" Someone in the second row asked.

"Right now, Beta Lorne, thank you for reminding me," Rein said. "And yes, before you ask, I memorized everyone's name and rank while you were all in your trances." He smiled. "One of my abilities is total memory recall. I will not forget."

Rein gestured to three boxes set on the stage. "The leftmost box is your communicator. Simply place it over either ear and it will attach itself. Touch the com to activate it. Say a name and you will connected to that person. Say a rank and you will be connected to everyone of that rank. The same will be true of occupations once they have been sorted. You can also address it to Atlantis as a whole. Try not to do that feature unless it's an emergency."

"The other two boxes hold the black and white bands. Pick your correct band and place it on your right wrist. I don't necessarily expect you to adhere to the customs and traditions of pair bonding that the Lanteans once did, but you may feel compelled to. They were created for a reason to go along with the new senses you've developed. You'll be able to read about those customs on your datapad."

Rein took a deep breath. "All the uniforms can be placed in the mess hall for now. When the other alphas and I have figured out your individual occupation sector and specific job within it, your will be notified on your datapad. At that point, you may head to the mess hall and grab a few pairs of the correct uniform in your size." He looked at Weir. "How many will everyone be able to get?"

"We've brought at least two jackets for everyone. They were informed to bring their own shirts, pants, and other clothing."

Rein nodded. "Two jackets then. Any other questions?"

This time, no one had anything to ask.

"Okay. Don't forget to take your datapad. You're all set."

Rein headed to the left of the stage as the new Lanteans headed up to grab their radios and bracelets. John stood, noting how easily the crowd parted for him and Sumner as they headed up and got their radios and black bands. John placed the radio over his left ear and blinked as it attached itself easily to his skin. He pressed it. "Sumner."

To his right, he heard Sumner's radio buzz. Sumner pressed it.

"Test," John said.

There was a crisp echo. Sumner nodded. John pressed the radio again and the call disconnected.

They headed over to where Rein stood. Rein bowed his head briefly. "Sirs."

"I think we need to read up on what black and white mean," Sumner murmured.

Weir and McKay joined them after a moment. John noticed that Weir wore a black band and McKay a white. It matched what he felt toward them. He met McKay's blue eyes briefly. The scientist flushed and looked away. He took a deep breath.

Rein smiled at McKay. "It's good to have another alpha white." He looked at all of them. "So, please just call me Rein. If we're to be leaders for this city together, I want us to also be friends."

"I have no problem with that," Weir said. "Call me Elizabeth."

McKay nodded. "Rodney is fine."

John smiled. "I'm John."

"Marshall."

"Elizabeth, Rodney, John, Marshall," Rein repeated. "I know I'm going to be dominating the conversation and possibly decisions for the first couple of weeks. I'll try to step back as much as I can."

"I believe we all understand," Elizabeth said. "You know this city best."

"But you know your people best," Rein said. He ran a hand through his hair. "Anyway, we should head to a conference room, if no one has any objections."

They nodded. Rein led them out a side door in the auditorium and back in the direction of the gateroom. Up the stairs and to the right was a conference room that had an oval table and eight chairs. Rein sat down and placed his datapad in front of him. They copied him.

Rein pressed a few things on his datapad and a screen appeared on the far wall. He pressed a few more things and six categories appeared.

"Soldiers, Human Coordinators, City Workers, Medical Staff, Life Scientists, Physical Scientists," John read aloud.

"Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple," Elizabeth said.

"Is everyone still okay with this system?" Rein asked.

"It's a good organization," Marshall said. "Will there be a head of each section?"

"Yes, and of the smaller sections within, I would say," Rein said. "John, Marshall, how do you plan on splitting things for the soldiers?"

John exchanged a glance with Marshall. He let Marshall talk in respect for his former rank above John. "We're sharing alpha responsibility."

Rein nodded and both their names appeared in the soldier section with alpha general beside them. "Is that sufficient?"

"Yes," John said. "How many military betas do we have?"

"Let's see," Rein scrolled through a list on his datapad. "Here, I'll send this list to all of your pads."

John looked down as his datapad dinged.

"Ten of the fifteen," Marshall said.

"Evan Lorne, Anne Teldy, Elliot Rutherford, Dean Bates, Aiden Ford, Laura Cadman, Alicia Vega, Dusty Mehra, Marcus Stackhouse, Jason Markham," John read aloud.

"A good number of high officers for two hundred soldiers," Marshall said. "Lorne, Teldy, and Rutherford have the most experience. We'll call them beta colonels."

"And the rest beta majors," John agreed.

They proceeded to break down the gammas, thetas, and sigmas into captains, lieutenants, sergeants, corporals, and privates.

"Okay," Rein said once they'd finished. He pulled up a map of the residential section next to the list. "I'd say we house the gamma, theta, and sigma soldiers in this tower here. The higher up, the slightly nicer the rooms are, but all of them are fairly small in comparison to some others on the city."

"But they'll all get their own rooms?" John asked.

"There's no reason not to, with how much room there is on the city," Rein said. "The floors in the tower share a bathroom per floor, though."

"Put the female gammas on the top floor and the male gammas on the next." Marshall said.

Rein randomized the names and put them as ordered.

"Two floors of male thetas," John said. "One floor of female thetas."

"One floor of female sigmas. Then the bottom three floors for the male sigmas." Marshall added.

"Done," Rein said. "Should I send out those assignments as well as their new ranks?"

"Yes," John said. "Where are we putting the betas?"

"Here is a set of suites. I think alphas and betas should all get suites. This tower here has balconies for the top three suites."

"Are the top three suites identical?" Marshall asked.

"They are. Should I put you each in one?"

"Yes," John said after glancing at Marshall. "Leave the third empty. We can't show favoritism by putting a beta there."

"All the other suites in the tower have their own bathrooms, like yours, and a large bedroom. You want me to place the betas in those?"

"Put the three colonels on the floor just below ours. The rest can be randomized on the bottom two floors."

Rein hummed and then nodded. "Okay. Should we give all the betas an office?"

"That's a good idea," John said. "Where are the offices?"

"There are some offices here in the command tower, but most of them are separated in sections of the city. So the scientist betas can have offices near the labs and the soldier betas can have the ones next to the training rooms."

"The five of us can have offices in the command tower," Rodney said. "But I also want an office by the labs."

"Give me and John a shared office by the training rooms, but separate ones in this tower."

John nodded. Rein did so and all of their datapads alerted them to the locations of their new offices, including a highlight map to show where they were. John's also showed his new set of rooms and he assumed Marshall's did too.

"Did you send the soldier betas their information?" Marshall asked.

"Doing so now," Rein said. "Okay, all the soldiers are done now. Onto the other five sectors."

"Finally," Rodney said. "We should have brought coffee."

"I don't know what that is," Rein said.

"It's a caffeinated beverage," Elizabeth said.

"Oh." Rein nodded. "Okay, so the last five betas are Carson Beckett, Kate Heightmeyer, Peter Grodin, Radek Zelenka, and David Parrish."

"Carson is obviously the head of the medics," Rodney said. "He'll need an office by the infirmary."

"Done," Rein said. "Should I put us three and the civilian betas in this tower? It's the same set up as the one John and Marshall are in—still three suites with balconies."

"You don't have to move," Elizabeth said.

"I want to," Rein said. "My current quarters are rather out of the way. I'd rather be closer to everyone."

"Works for me, then," she told him.

"I'm obviously the head of the physical sciences," Rodney said. "Make Grodin the head engineer and Zelenka the head physicist and mathematician. Parrish is smart, he can be the head of the life sciences." Rodney paused. "Unless that's what you are."

"No. I'm more of a city worker. I think I'll be best at organizing and making sure the city is running smoothly." Rein paused. "I do, however, have military training and am quite capable of going on intelligence missions."

"We'll assess your skills later," Marshall said.

Rein nodded. He put himself as head of the city workers. "Elizabeth?"

"I'll be head of the human coordinators. I assume that's the diplomats."

"And the anthropologists and sociologists and psychologists, yes," Rein said. "Kate Heightmeyer has an impressive background in psychological knowledge."

"She came here to be the city psychologist," Elizabeth said.

"How will be she be with the soldiers?" Marshall asked.

"She spent years working with soldiers on the frontlines in Iraq and Afghanistan," Elizabeth said. "It's where I met her, actually."

"Make her head psychologist then," John said. "Does she have any staff? One person for four hundred is unreasonable."

"There are two gammas who are psychotherapists," Rein said. "I'll put them under her."

"What have we got for medical staff?" Rodney asked.

"Beside our new head medic, there are five gammas, ten thetas, and ten sigmas who have a background in medical knowledge." Rein assigned them in the medical section. "I'll be them all in this tower closest to the transporter."

"So they can respond to emergencies," Elizabeth said. "I agree."

"Beta Beckett can have the suite at the top here. There we go. Okay, I sent off those orders."

They continued working, separating the remaining gammas, thetas, and sigmas. The chefs went into the city workers sector with a gamma being head cook. Parrish got the oceanographers and biologists, as well as the botanists who'd be working with the city food workers. A few gamma diplomats went to work directly under Elizabeth while the rest of the social scientists were placed in the human coordinators section below them.

Several hours after they'd begun, all the room, office, and lab assignments were sent out and completed. They stood then with the intent on unpacking their own things, or moving them to his new suite in the case of Rein, and getting some food.

Rodney stuck close to Rein while they grabbed food the cooks had thrown together real quick and headed to a table out of the way. John and Marshall had called the beta soldiers together for a dinner meeting and Elizabeth was off talking with Carson and David Parrish about their positions as heads of their sectors.

"Why do I feel so comfortable around you?" Rodney asked as they sat down across from each other.

Rein studied him with those piercing blue eyes that looked so striking next to his chocolate brown skin. "We're both alpha whites. We're both whites, period. You'll always feel more comfortable in close quarters with other whites, because there'll never be an undercurrent of attraction."

"And because we're both alphas, and therefore the same rank, we don't have to watch ourselves around each other," Rodney surmised.

Rein nodded. "It's why I was really happy that there was another alpha white. As whites, we tend to crave physical contact and comfort a bit more than the blacks. This last month being by myself has been harder than I expected. Before, there was always another white that I could go to for physical comfort, even if they were only betas or gammas."

Rodney looked down at his plate. "I'm not good at comfort."

Rein laughed. "You'll be fine, Rodney. You and I are the head whites for the city. You'll learn how to comfort other whites as a matter of instinct. I'm not saying you have to go easy on them. I have a feeling you're not the kind to go easy on those who work under you."

"No. If they're going to be idiots, I will treat them like idiots."

"They'll learn fast. You received technology sensing, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Rodney smiled. "I'm excited to try it out."

"Atlantis likes you. I can feel it. I don't understand her technology in and out, that's not in my skill set, but I feel her emotional state, if you can call it that. She feels confident you'll be receptive to her. If you listen to her, she'll be able to help you with the engineering of the city and the technology in it."

"It's a dream come true," Rodney admitted. "I really want to learn how the zero point energy is harnessed."

"I'm going to go through the database and set Atlantis to translating as much as she can. With every new bit translated, she'll open it up in the datapads for people to read. I'll make sure everything is categorized as easily as I can."

"You're doing a lot," Rodney said.

Rein smiled. "Like you won't be?"

Rodney smirked. He finished his dinner. "Come on, I need to go check on my cat. You want to meet him?"

"I would love to," Rein said.

They took their plates over to a stack near the kitchen and left the mess hall. Rodney let Rein lead the way to the nearest transporter. He touched the wall as they stepped inside.

Immediately, he was hit with a sudden understanding of the molecular deconstruction and reconstruction that would happen in seconds as soon as the transporter was activated. He gasped.

Rein's hand on his arm was comforting and allowed him to pull back into himself. "Are you hurt?"

"No, no. My ability just kicked in."

"Oh." Rein ran a hand up and down his arm for a minute. Rodney leaned into it. He understood the comfort now. Just feeling Rein on his conscious as they touched was a balm he'd never known before in his life.

"I'm good," Rodney said. He took a deep breath and reached forward. "This one, right?"

Rein nodded. Rodney pressed it. He barely felt the process that he now understood, which was all the more impressive.

They stepped out. Several gammas bowed their heads in greeting as they passed them. Rein smiled at the men and Rodney tried to copy it. It didn't come naturally for him to smile out the blue, so he just settled for a quick nod.

They made it to the tower they'd both be in. It hadn't taken too long for he, Elizabeth, and Rein to get all their things moved to their suites, because the soldiers had been more than happy to help. But none of them had stayed to do much unpacking as they'd headed to dinner.

There tower was only four stories tall. Zelenka and Grodin were on the floor just below the alphas and Parrish and Heightmeyer were on the floor below them, leaving the bottom floor empty for now. There was a central set of spiral stairs that they walked up to reach the top floor.

Rodney wanted to complain about the exercise, but truthfully he knew that he needed to get used to it. Atlantis was going to be a war base and, regardless, he didn't want to be stuck on her. He wanted to go off-world at least sometimes and he needed to be fit enough to run from the Wraith if that happened.

They reached the top floor and headed left toward Rodney's room. Rodney touched the reader outside his door and the door slid open. His cat was sitting on the gel and metal couch that all the suites had. It was surprisingly comfortable, though Rein complained that they needed covers. The cloth had disintegrated in the ten thousand years since they'd last been used.

"Newton," Rodney called. "Meet Rein."

"Hello, Newton," Rein said easily.

Rodney reached forward. His cat began to purr as he was stroked. He was a lazy thing, Rodney's cat, but he like curling up next to Rodney at night and he never complained about how late Rodney worked so long as he always had food and water available.

"Is that a happy sound?" Rein asked.

"Yeah, he's purring. Here, you can scratch his head. He likes that." Rodney demonstrated how and the purring intensified. It stayed loud as Rein's fingers replaced Rodney.

Half an hour later, Newton and Rein were besotted with one another. "I want one," Rein said. "Is there a way I can request one from Earth?"

"I'm sure we can work something out," Rodney said. He'd been unpacking his texts in the metal bookshelf sitting by the door to his large bathroom. All the suites had a common room with a bookshelf, a small table with two chairs, and a couch. Then there was a bathroom with a bathtub and a separate shower, a fancy toilet that went into this awesome plumbing system that Rodney needed to check out and a sink. Everything was touch activated and seemed to read the mind on how hot things should be.

The bedroom had a metal wardrobe with multiple shelves and a hanging rod. There was also a large bed. Like the cloth covers for the couches, the sheets had disintegrated, but the mattress were made from the same gel substance that had survived and everyone had made sure to bring extra sheets for multiple-sized beds. Rodney had made sure that Rein had been given one as well as some of the extra clothes that had been brought since all his own clothes had been turned into dust.

Rodney grabbed one of the throws he'd taken from his apartment and put it over the couch so Rein would stop bitching about it. Rein grinned at him and settled back down on it.

"What did the Lanteans do for entertainment?" Rodney asked as he finished unpacking things.

"There are games on every datapad and more can be programmed in if you want to put a couple people on it."

"I think people will like chess and maybe go or some others that would be pretty easy to program."

Rein nodded. "I'd like to learn to play them. I'm going to send out a notification to everyone with instructions on entertainment, actually. I think it's important that people have fun things to do in their off time. It will include instructions on how to play the games on the datapad. I'll also explain the database that Atlantis is translating."

"The email will be well received," Rodney agreed.

"Email?"

"Electronic mail. I know it's not exactly the same as email on Earth, but that's basically what your notification system is."

"Oh." Rein shrugged. He continued to pet Newton, who'd fallen asleep. "We have texts in the database that are purely for entertainment. I believe they'll be useful to because they have the usual interactions of the Lanteans between rank and classification. There are even romance texts."

"What about video entertainment?"

"That's in the database too. And all rooms have projectors built in to allow films and the like to be played against a wall. You want me to show you?"

Rodney nodded. He sat down on the couch and leaned over as Rein went through how the find the film section of the database and what to press to put whatever was on the datapad to the nearest projector. The movie appeared on the wall in front of the couch, it's quality crisper than HD.

"You can adjust the size of the screen too," Rein said. "Though it won't go larger than the wall space.

"You definitely need to put how to do that in the next email," Rodney said. "I'll program a way to make the digital files from Earth compatible so that we can add our movies and TV shows to the database. I assume few of these are in English."

"English being this language? Common?"

"Yeah."

"There are subtitles available for all the films, so people can still watch them. However, I agree. Many will like having films of their own culture." Rein closed the movie and the screen disappeared. "I'll send out that… email before I go to bed."

"I don't think it will take me too long to work out to make the data compatible. It doesn't seem to be that fundamentally different. At the very least, Atlantis should be able to make a recording of the recording." Rodney pulled out his own datapad and began looking through it. "I'll make it so that anyone with at least half a brain can upload Earth texts and films and make them available."

"Good luck." Rein brushed a hand over Rodney's shoulder and stood. "I should go unpack my rooms. I'll see you in the morning, Rodney."

Rodney waved goodbye, too entranced in his work to see Rein's amused smile.

A week passed as the new Lanteans settled into the city. Elizabeth looked over the data one more time. It had her and the other Earth alphas preliminary reports as well as the updated files on the all the colonists including their ranks, classifications, and jobs on the city.

Today the first gate teams would be headed out. It made her nervous. Three of the city's alphas would be off-world at the same time. It was necessary, she knew, at least for the first couple intel missions, but that didn't make her like it.

Elizabeth sighed and sent off the data reports to Rodney to be given to one of his scientists to encode. She had too many other things to do then worry, but she just couldn't help the strange feelings that had been welling up inside her. Ever since she'd awakened, the mother instinct she'd never felt before had bubbled up.

Everyone on the city was hers to protect and care for. She felt the need to make sure they were all doing well and that they had what they needed. She was itching to go off-world herself and begin trade negotiations, but until then she found herself wandering the halls and checking in on everyone like a mother hen.

Well, she'd knew there would be changes. And she knew how to roll with change. She would handle it.

Elizabeth stood. Maybe she'd go check on the labs before lunch.

Marshall beckoned Rein closer. The alpha white was suited up in a bulletproof vest complete with the standard issue off-world pack filled with extra water, power bars, and the basic first aid supplies. Rein didn't protest as Marshall ran his hands over the vest and pack, checking the tightness of the straps and making sure Rein would still be able to move.

Marshall paused as Rein pressed a hand to one of his. He glanced up at Rein's smiling eyes. "Marshall," Rein murmured. "Everything fits well. You need to stop worrying about me. You and John both tested my aim and hand-to-hand combat skills."

They had and Rein had done surprisingly well. Or perhaps not too surprising. The man had abilities in speed and endurance and had lived with them for years. He knew how to use his powers. Marshall and John had trained with the soldiers for the past week and while they all had some grasp on their new strengths, they weren't nearly as proficient at them as they'd become.

Rein had shown them the training rooms, including a simulator room that allowed them to fight Wraith made from nanites. It meant they didn't have to hold back like they would in a spar against each other and allowed them to get an idea on how the Wraith moved. Marshall had made sure that every soldier had gone into that room at least once and the five men and women he and John would be taking with them today had been in their every day for the past week. They were taking no chances on their first off-world scouting mission.

Rein also showed them all the weapons room and helped them get used to the phasers, rifles, and stunners. Marshall still had an auto pistol strapped to his leg, but he had the energy rifle attacked to his vest and a phaser at his waist. He had to admit, after a week of practicing with them at the shooting range, he liked the energy weapons a hell of a lot.

"I know," Marshall said finally. He squeezed Rein's hand. He would have never been so touchy-feely with anyone on his team before, but Rein was a white and he felt an instinctive urge to give him small comforts.

He also felt a large pull of attraction toward the man, but he was pushing that down as much as he could. He known it was a possibility coming in but prior to Atlantis, Marshall had been very secure in his sexuality as a straight man. Now, though, he found nearly all whites attractive and Rein perhaps most of all.

John came up to them. "We all set to go?"

Rein nodded, pulling away from Marshall. Marshall held in the urge to grab him and bring him back. He didn't like the way John stood close to Rein, though he knew the man had also taken to standing so close to Rodney and some of the beta whites. It was instinctive, and yet Marshall's instincts were screaming at him to make a claim before Rein was snatched by some other black.

Now was not the time to be thinking about this. Marshall pushed the thoughts far back in his mind and headed to the Gate. The team they'd assembled was chosen especially for the member's experience in stealth. They had one beta with them, Teldy, as well as three gammas and a theta.

"Listen up," Marshall said. John came to stand next to him while Rein held back. "We're going to be hopping worlds today. This is an intel mission. You've all been debriefed, but I'll say it again. If we meet people, we learn what they know about the Wraith and we open the way for some of the diplomatic off-world teams to come back and open trade agreements. If we meet Wraith, we kill them or we get out. It is imperative that we hide that we're coming from Atlantis."

"Rein here has said that the Wraith never referred to our ancestors as Lanteans, so we're safe to use that," John continued. "We're Lanteans from Lantea—we've been isolationist for many years and have recently begun seeking to explore the galaxy. Don't mention Earth, not even to each other, while we're off-world."

"Is everyone prepared?" Marshall asked.

"Yes sir!" they said.

Marshall nodded. He looked up at the balcony where the technicians were manning the Gate controls. "Dial up Sateda."

Rein had written out a list of planets that had once held Lantean allies and outposts. They'd given a copy of the list to the technicians and Elizabeth and were planning a quick hop between them for an initial scan of the planets. They'd all been made to memorize the gate address for Atlantis in case of emergency.

"Good luck," Elizabeth said from the top of the stairs. Rodney stood next to her. Marshall saw Rein give him a smile, which was returned.

"See you later," John said easily.

One of the gammas sent the probe, a flying camera and atmosphere reader they could all control from their datapads, through the Gate. "It's clear, sir," he said.

Marshall stepped through the Gate first, his hand on the trigger of his energy rifle. The other side was empty of people, but it was cleared of trees and Marshall could make out what looked to be a building up ahead.

The rest of the team came through and the Gate closed. Rein stepped up next to Marshall. "This isn't good," he murmured. "I have a bad feeling."

Marshall stiffened. "About what?"

"There's death in the air." Rein stepped forward. He had his phaser in hand. Marshall exchanged a glance with John and they both followed the other alpha.

They breached the forward clearing and came across the sight of destruction. What looked like it had once been a massive civilization had been razed to the ground. Rein let out a soft breath and it felt immensely sad. Marshall put a hand on Rein's shoulder and Rein leaned into it.

"You expected something like this," John said.

Rein nodded and then took another unsteady breath. "Come on, we should scout around."

Neither Marshall nor John argued and they spent the next hour searching the ruins before heading back to the Gate for the next planet on the list.

"So Sateda, Boro, and Paxinto were all destroyed," Elizabeth repeated.

"Yes," Sumner confirmed.

"It looked like they'd developed a level of technology the Wraith found too dangerous," Sheppard said. "They weren't just culled. Some of the other civilizations we talked to remarked on centennial, or sometimes decadal cullings, but the Wraith never killed the entire civilization."

"It wouldn't make sense for them to," David said. He sat in the meeting with the alphas along with Beta Colonels Lorne, Teldy, and Rutherford, and Doctor Beckett. "They still need feeding grounds."

"David is correct," Rein said.

David blushed a little as the alpha white looked at him. Rein and Rodney had called in him, Kate Heightmeyer, Radek Zelenka, Aiden Ford, Alicia Vega, and Jason Markham for a quick gathering two days before. They were all the highest-ranking whites on the city and Rein had taken the time to explain what that meant for them and their duties to the lower ranked whites. They'd also taken the time to get to know each other a little better and Rein and Rodney had both granted the betas permission for them to use their first names.

"They only wiped out the people who got too technologically advanced, like John said," Rein continued.

"We'll need to be careful," Lorne added. "Even if we make sure the don't know we're living on Atlantis and just let them assume we live on the mainland on Lantea, they're still going to question our technology."

"We can't leave any Wraith alive to report any findings on us to the others," Sumner said.

"The other five planets we visited were friendly," Rein said. "Athos, Hoff, Manaria, and Levanna seem to be open to possible trade agreements."

"And the fifth?" Elizabeth asked.

"Taranis," Rein said. "The planet used to be an outpost, just like Boro was. Boro had been destroyed, including the battleship that had been left there, but Taranis is by all accounts still fine. The people were friendly."

"There's a but coming," Rodney said.

"Yes, actually," Rein looked at Rodney. "I think you need to go there with the trade group. The Taranis seem to have technology, but it's nothing very advanced. What worries me is that I think they've tapped into the planetary shield."

"Why is that worrying?"

"Well, they weren't running it when we were there," Rein said. "But the leader mentioned having a defense against the Wraith they used frequently to prevent cullings. And if that's the shield, then they need to be careful. Unlike Atlantis' shield and many others across the galaxy that run of ZPMs, Taranis' runs off the geothermal energy from the super-volcano. If they drew too much and set the volcano off… it would destroy the planet."

"Shit," Sheppard muttered. "But that volcano could go off at any time regardless, couldn't it?"

"Which is why the planet was just a small outpost. I don't know how long those people have been living there, but they certainly weren't there ten thousand years ago. The fact that they have no idea what their civilization sits on is very troubling. They, at the very least, should have sensors available for early warning if the volcano begins to become active."

"Agreed," Rodney said. "I'm not the best at telling people bad news lightly, though."

"You can leave that to me," Elizabeth said. "You just do the readings and see how active the volcano currently is."

"And see if they will give you a tour," Rein said. "They've turned the former outpost base into a sort of palace. Ten thousand years ago, we had a battleship stored there, as well as several rooms of drones. And there may have been gateships and fighters."

"Puddle jumpers and x-wings," Sheppard said.

Rein grinned. "Right, puddle jumpers and x-wings. Are we still calling the large ones battleships, John?"

"Or battle cruisers," John said. "But battleships is fine."

"We need the drones at least," Sumner said. "Atlantis' supply of them is too low to properly defend the city."

"Very well," Elizabeth said. "We'll put together three sets of diplomatic teams for trade. I want at least two of your men on each, Generals."

"We'll put a beta in charge of each team," Sumner said. "Though I'd like to keep a couple of the betas on a separate team until they have more experience and Bates is staying on Atlantis as head of internal security."

David leaned back in his chair as the alphas and military betas began to hash out several first contact teams, diplomatic teams, and research teams. Carson was doing work on his datapad. David wished he'd remembered to bring his. He would in the future. He had a feeling that if he'd be sitting in these kinds of meetings, he'd need something to do. His opinion only really came in to effect when it had to do with food, as he had been basically in charge of the food production despite the fact it technically should be in the city workers section. He didn't mind and Rein had too much to do already.

"Who would you recommend for research missions, Beta Parrish?"

David looked and met Lorne's gaze. He felt a tingling in his stomach and he dropped his gaze. "I'd like to go myself if there is any interesting plant life, especially if it could be edible. The seeds we brought won't last forever and while we can keep getting supplementary food shipments from Earth, we should try to become as self-sustaining as we can. I'm also willing to help civilizations develop better farming and irrigation techniques if that's part of trade agreements."

"Okay then," Sheppard said. "I think we need three different team types, but not the three we just proposed. Even research teams will need someone who knows how to make trade agreements. So we'll have first contact teams, for initial exploration, trade and research teams, and rescue teams."

"Rescue teams?" Rodney asked.

"We're going to be going on rescue missions," Sheppard said. "If we start making allies, then at some point one of our allies is going to be attacked by Wraith. I can't in good conscious turn away a call for help in that circumstance."

"Agreed," Sumner said. "Any steady allies we make will need to have back up plans. I recommend making a sanctuary on an uninhabited planet. We won't take anyone back to Atlantis without deliberation, but we can take them to the sanctuary. We should also only ever gate to the sanctuary if we're being followed by Wraith so as to not risk them coming onto the city."

"I can set some of the engineers to make a viable camp plan," Rodney said. "You'll need to assign soldiers to actually build it and guard it though."

"Doable," Rutherford said. "We can add it into the guard rotation we already have going around the city."

"So three types of teams," Elizabeth said. "Named and numbered."

"In SGC, all teams were just SG and then a number with acknowledgements as to which were first contact and which were research," Lorne said. "But if we're going to have some people on multiple teams, which I think we should, then they should have different distinctions."

"FC for first contact teams. TR for trade and research teams. RB for rescue and battle teams," Sheppard said. He nodded to Marshall. "We've talked about this briefly. I'll head one of the FC teams and one of the backup RB teams."

"I will head the RB-1 team, but otherwise will stay on the city while Shep does first contact," Sumner said. "Rutherford, you have the longest experience with the SGC. You'll head FC-2. Lorne, you'll head TR-1. Take Parrish. Elizabeth, you're on that team only for the more important trade agreements. We need you on the city otherwise."

"They can have Corrigan otherwise. He's a good diplomat," Elizabeth said.

"I want FC and TR teams of four to five, with one or two civilians and three soldiers," Marshall said.

"I'll take Ford on my team until he gets enough experience to lead his own," Sheppard said. "I'll need a well-rounded scientist."

"I'll do it," Rodney said, surprising David a little. "I don't really trust most of my other idiots not to overlook something important. But you'll be letting Lorne borrow me for the Taranis mission."

David noticed Sheppard's mouth tightening a little at that. "Okay."

"For the FC teams, I think we should look for native guides," Rein said. "I'll be on your team initially, John, but only until you find someone who knows the current state of the galaxy better and who we trust enough to take to Atlantis and allow to awaken."

"You want to integrate Pegasus natives into the colony?" David asked, a little surprised.

Rein nodded. He looked around. "Is that not good? They are just as much descendants of the Lanteans as you are… though perhaps a couple more generations earlier. Earth got the newest blood."

"I think it's a good idea," Elizabeth said.

"They'll need to be vetted and they'll need to understand that their first loyalty would be to Atlantis, not to whatever planet they're from originally," Sumner said gruffly.

Rein smiled at that, but he said nothing. David sat back. Was his first loyalty to Atlantis? Or to Earth? Did he even know the answer to that? It had only been a week… and yet he felt at home on Atlantis.

"Teldy, you get TR-2," Sheppard said. "Take Mehra and Vega."

"An all female team?" Teldy asked.

"There might be some cultures more receptive to that," Elizabeth said. "You should take Alison Porter. She's a good diplomat."

"Simpson is competent enough," Rodney said. "You can have her too."

"Cadman is an explosives expert," Sheppard said. "You want her on your RB team?"

Sumner nodded. "RB teams should be eight members."

"Agreed."

"Stackhouse can head TR-3," Lorne suggested. "He's experienced, but I'd put Markham with him anyway."

"Lorne, you'll head RB-2. You'll only be called for that when TR-1 isn't off-world," Sheppard said. "Rutherford, RB-3, Teldy, RB-4. Shep will have RB-5. We'll assign seven soldiers to each of you. Only those who have experience in search and rescue."

"So far we have two first contact teams, three trade and research teams, and five rescue teams," Elizabeth said.

"Most of the rescue teams won't be mobilized often," Sumner said. "We should work toward three or four FC and six or seven TR teams, but not until we have a better grasp on this galaxy and have native guides to work with."

David dared to look Lorne as they continued talking. The beta black would be his team leader, which meant they'd be spending a lot of time together. David had been off-world at SGC, he knew what it was like.

Lorne's gaze flicked over to him and David held his breath. The man smiled at him and David smiled back before he had to look away. His heart hammered a bit in his chest. He looked up to see Rein watching him. He gave a little shrug, but Rein just kept smiling.

Later, after the meeting was over, David went over to the man. "Sometimes, I feel like you know more than you're telling us."

"You should read some of the romance books Atlantis has translated," Rein told him simply. He looked over David's shoulder and David saw as Rodney walked up to them. He scooted over to give the alpha room to stand with them. "It's not uncommon for certain grey pairs to feel the connection nearly instantly."

"Grey?" Rodney asked.

"It's the term for pair bonds. They become grey when they'd entered into a relationship with each other. In the past, Atlantis has always run smoothly when there was at least one alpha grey pair."

"There's an uneven number of alphas," David pointed out.

"It's not too uncommon for alphas and betas to pair up, or even betas and gammas. It rarely goes past two ranks, but it's not unheard of for that either. That being said, alphas are usually most attracted to each other. And while betas are often very attracted to alphas and vice versa, I think you find yourself more attracted to Beta Lorne than you do to the alpha blacks.

David blushed, and then blushed harder when Rodney raised an eyebrow in his direction. "Attraction isn't the end-all. If the dating customs I read are going to be the way we do things, he's the one that has to approach me anyway." David looked down. "I don't know why he would. I'm far less attractive then either of you."

"First off, David you're gorgeous," Rein said. "Second, I'm fairly sure no beta or gamma or anyone else is going to dare approach Rodney or I unless Marshall, John, and Elizabeth all find other mates."

"Really?" Rodney frowned. "I don't want to not get sex because the others are being too picky to settle down with someone else."

"Do you really think you're going to have to find someone other than one of our alphas, Rodney?" Rein asked.

"I'm not presuming anything," Rodney said a bit stiffly. He sighed. "And not to copy David, but it's not like I'm that attractive. I'm too prickly. I don't even know why I was made a white."

"Do you really want to be a black?" Rein asked. "Having to take all the control in the relationship? Isn't it nicer to just let someone else take care of you?"

Rodney's cheeks were stained as red as David's were. "I guess."

"And besides, Rodney," David had to add. "Your ass is literally the best ass I've ever seen. I don't know how any male black would see it and not immediately think about drilling it."

Rodney began to sputter as Rein burst into laughter. David grinned and chose to retreat before Rodney recovered.


End file.
